The invention is directed to an acceleration switch of the type used for actuating an impact detonator by closing its ignition circuit, and, more particularly, it is directed to the arrangement of a lever assembly which is displaceable between a first position and a second position so that in its second position it actuates the ignition circuit.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,952,208 an impact detonator is disclosed which employs a ball, serving as an inertia body and held on a conical seat to assure release, even when a projectile impacts against a surface at an acute angle. Normally, the ball is held in the rest position by a spring-loaded actuating bar. When an acceleration force causes the ball to move off its seat, the actuating bar is displaced against the force of the spring and a number of spring contacts in an ignition circuit are closed.
In such an arrangement, the ball and the spring-loaded actuating bar form an oscillatory system in which even minor oscillations can amplify the system and lead to an accidental discharge of the ignition condenser or even to an accidental release of the detonator. However, small or relatively brief duration accelerations which occur, for example, when piercing thin-walled targets, when grazing a target, or when striking against a surface at an acute impact angle, are insufficient to close all of the contacts of the ignition system.